HOLLYWOOD - The Saw (thesawpost.com), which regularly provides post services for popular reality TV series, recently supported the new Fox competition series Extracted, handling editorial conforming, color grading and visual effects for the show, which is presented as a unique social experiment.
In Extracted, 12 strangers are dropped into the Canadian wilderness, where they face a series of daunting challenges with only minimal resources. Family members monitor their competitors live via monitors at a headquarters and have the ability to send survival gear to their loved ones or have them “extracted” if they think they’ve had enough. The last remaining contestant receives a prize of $250,000.
The series’ producers captured video of the competition using 176 cameras placed strategically throughout the woods and connected via eight miles of fiber. Finishing at The Saw was overseen by Ben Waldorf, SVP, post production for B17, and proved challenging, as both visual and narrative consistency needed to be maintained.
“The show needed to look raw and gritty but without seeming jarring to the viewer,” explains online editor Randy Magalski. “We wanted people at home to think ‘that was rough!’ without noticing the technology or the craft that was used to pull it off.”
He adds that the distinction between the wilderness and headquarters environments had to be clear.
“We established a dichotomy between the harsh conditions of the survivalists and the comforts of HQ so viewers know immediately where they are."
The need to finish the show efficiently was paramount, as The Saw had to deliver the first episode in time to air immediately after the Super Bowl telecast. Magalski says he didn’t mind the pressure, as he was caught up in his part of telling the story.
“Extracted has a unique premise,” he explains. “On the one hand, it tells the story of the survivalists and all that they’re going through in the wilderness. And on the other, it involves you in the emotions of the family members who are experiencing a different kind of turmoil. The way those two worlds come together makes this show special.”
Extracted airs on Mondays on Fox and the next day on Hulu. The show is produced by B17 Entertainment (a part of Sony Pictures Television), Balboa Productions and Fox Alternative Entertainment.